I am wondering what kind of work is available for freelance work, and what is the usual amount of experiance you need for this type of work?

Ive been contemplating doing this for a while now to help with income and just to keep my skills sharp.

Here is a bit of my drafting history and experiance;

Work:
Currently am a CAD administrator and assistant manager to a well established HVAC testing and balancing agency in Vanocuver. I have been here for about a year and a half and have standarized their somewhat disarrayed CAD department over my time. As well as oversaw the upgrading of the archaic R14 system to a new 2006 LT programming.

Education:
Completed the Mechanical Drafting course offered at B.C.I.T. Placed in the top 3 overall in the class. This course was extensive in 3d modelling, processed piping, and normal mechanical plan preperation.

Completed and certified in the MasterCAM couse as well at B.C.I.T.

Completed multiple classes in highschool. Where I was able to help the teacher create the advanced classes for future students. Over 3 years I completed a total of 6 courses where I was often working on my own projects as they did not have a system in place.

Awards & Achievments:
I competed twice in the highschool regional Skills Canada Competition. In my grade 12 year I was awarded the Provincial Gold Medal and competed in the Nationals.

General Skills:

I have completed multiple 3D mechanical drawings of complex objects, as well have thousands of hours of practical experience with all kinds of drawings. Primarily mechanical design and HVAC layout. Have used all formats of AutoCAD and done some lisping routines. Have experiance with, Inventor, MasterCAM, 3D studio, and numerous othe office programs.

Its not that I dont have the confidence in my skills. I have taken on great projects before, and thrive on a competitive and challenging ideas. My proble comes into with the fact that I am only 21 and alot of people see that as a down side when it comes to establishing trust in a client.

If some of you have done freelance work and could give me some tips and comments on wheather my skills apply to the majority of freelance work available.

Too young? Possibly, but many folks get too old before they realize that they really want to be "in business" or at least self-employed.

In reality you need to have at least 1 prospective client with enough work for you to survive, to get started. Once you have that client in hand you've got a potential reference. You've got to have references, and you need at least 1 strong one that's from a recent project.

I've been there, and know several others that just had to do it. The "fatherly" advise I'd give you is to set a specific time frame and plan for striking out on your own. Look at yourself from a customers point of view. Would you hire a young 1-man show,that worked for only one company for a short time,to do your work, or a guy that's been around and knows people? If you go out on your own it will cost you big bucks if you work a good plan. How will you price yourself? You're better to sell your combination of experience and references than have to go the "I'm cheaper" route. If you don't get 2x your current wage as your "rate" you'll find out you've taken a pay cut.